Today U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), the representative of Fort Bragg, released a statement on the deaths of three Special Operations troops after the attack Tuesday where two Aberdeen residents were among the U.S. service members killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

29-year-old Captain Andrew Patrick Ross, and 39-year-old Sergeant 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, from Aberdeen were killed in the blast. The two were assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).

Captain Ross was reportedly originally from Lexington, Virginia. Sergeant 1st Class Emond was reportedly originally from Brush Prairie, Washington.

25-year-old Staff Sergeant Dylan J. Elchin, from Pennsylvania, who was assigned to the Air Force 26th Special Tactics Squadron was also killed. Three other service members and an American contractor were injured in the explosion.

The victims were traveling in an armored vehicle when the bomb went off. It was the deadliest attack this year on United States forces in Afghanistan. The Taliban is reported to have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Representative Hudson released the following statement Wednesday evening after the victims were identified:

“My wife Renee and I join our country in mourning the deaths of Sergeant First Class Eric M. Emond, Captain Andrew P. Ross, and Staff Sergeant Dylan J. Elchin” said Representative Hudson. “We send our sincere condolences to their families, and our thoughts are with the entire Special Forces community during this tough time. We pray for God’s peace, comfort and healing and for full recoveries for the other Americans who were injured. Our community has lost heroes who will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.”